Assessing the Sustainable Development of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage and Transportation Under Energy Transition Based on the C-STSM Multidimensional Framework: China Case

Under the global energy transition, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remains an important transitional fuel. However, persistent safety risks in storage and transportation continue to limit its sustainable development. This study aims to evaluate the sustainability of China’s LPG storage and transportation system and identify practical improvement pathways. A “1+4” C-STSM multidimensional framework was developed by combining accident fault-tree analysis, comparative review of domestic and international standards, and a systematic assessment of storage, transportation, monitoring, and safety technologies. The results show that the sustainability of LPG systems depends on the coordinated performance of infrastructure, transportation, monitoring, and safety barriers across the full supply chain. China has made progress in engineering facilities and safety management, but still faces weaknesses in intrinsic safety, barrier integrity, intelligent monitoring, and life-cycle governance. The main gap with international advanced practice lies in insufficient system integration rather than the lack of basic technologies. Improving LPG sustainability requires a coordinated pathway that combines safer infrastructure, intelligent monitoring, stronger barrier management, and better regulatory coordination. Such an approach can enhance industrial safety while supporting low-loss, low-emission energy transition.